GANGGREEN

I was involved in a discussion with a friend this morning about Jerry McKinnis' great fishing show, the Fishin' Hole. I LOVED watching that show as a teenager growing up and swore that I'd eventually get to some of the places where Jerry was fishing (I distinctly remember episodes from Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the boundary waters, among others). I've seen a few of the episodes or portions of them on YouTube, but does anyone know anywhere else to find them or to purchase them? Man, I loved that show and would love to see them again.

You'll love Oneida. Honestly, I doubt that you'll have a really hard time figuring out a pattern. I mostly stick in and near the weeds in the summertime and fish plastics slowly, but I'd guess at this time of year you'll be dealing with schooling and hungry bass and I'd think you'd probably want a moving bait to find them. Smallmouth should be moving and active and I'd be surprised if you didn't catch at least a few walleye. Have fun.

Thanks Lendiesel. It's been years since I've gone after flounder and that would be fun I'm sure. I don't know that I'm really that interested in hauling my boat 9 hours one way for a bit of bass fishing but we'll see. Hopefully some others will have thoughts too but I really appreciate the help.

For those of you who may be familiar, I'd like some very general information on this area. My entire family (I have a very large family with many siblings, nieces, nephews, etc.) have rented a giant home for next summer in what I believe are the headwaters of the Little Choptank, maybe Fishing Creek specifically. I'm torn whether I should take my boat or not. First of all, I've never put my rigs in saltwater and I don't really know whether this is fairly fresh water, brackish or really salty. Secondly, I have no clue what the quality of the fishery is there, what I'd target or whether it's worth having my rig on hand. I know that the Chesepeake is loaded with smallish to medium sized stripers in the summertime (we're going in mid July) but I don't know if they're in that area. I also know that the upstream, freshwater areas can be good for yellow perch and largemouth bass, but again, I'm not sure if this area is fresh water and how good the bass or perch fishing would be. I've looked at a map and it seems like the rental is way up this arm of the bay, almost as far as you can go. Generally, how far might I have to travel for good striper fishing and how reliable is the fishing for someone who's not done it before (I'm a good fisherman who can fish stickbaits, swimbaits, jigs, etc. and I even have downriggers, planer boards and other trolling gear if necessary)? Secondly, assuming that I am in fairly fresh water in that area, how would the bass or yellow perch fishing be? I'm not terribly interested in white perch, croacker or bluefish for what it's worth (unless the blues were big and plentiful, in which case they're probably be fun I guess). Assuming that I don't take my boat, are there reasonably priced charters or headboats that fish near this area? Are the headboats reasonably successful at putting you on fish or would a charter or two be a better idea? Finally, what's the status of blue crabs in that area? Again, how far might I have to go to get into crabs and is it easy enough for a newbie to gather a mess of them for dinner (I've done it with handlines but it was many years ago and I don't really know how or where to look for them in this area). Thanks in advance for any help that you guys may be able to provide.

Already on the list, thanks.

I was actually also considering Smith Mountain and the surrounding area and I haven't ruled it out yet but the eastern Tennessee area and lakes seem to be growing on me, at least the idea is. I'm planning a short vacation in May and will be making my reservations tonight so I'll at least get a quick visit and have a gut feeling for whether that area may be right for me or not.

I actually like the hills, the slightly cooler summertime temps and the proximity to the Great Smokies, all of which are draws for the eastern part of the state for me. I have a buddy in the north-central part of the state (south of Dale Hollow) and I spent a week with him last spring and honestly, I just didn't care for the area enough to want to relocate there. Your points are well-taken though, I don't want to retire to end up being followed by a bunch of people who don't value the rural nature of the area, the politics of the residents, etc. and I'd hate to move there for the low cost of living, only to have that change in a decade because of the influx of people that want more and more services.

That's good to know Al. I have them about an hour from me here in PA and I make at least one trip each fall during the rut to photograph and enjoy them. Still doing tons of research and looking at new areas. Douglas/Cherokee are still leading the pack, Boone falling somewhat and South Holston with the bullet. We'll see......

I don't care much about the deer because I don't hunt a lot anymore either and I don't really consider myself a trophy hunter (although we have antler restrictions and I typically pass up plenty of legal buck for whatever reason). I like to take photos too, a little bit......http://billragostaphotography.zenfolio.com/ Surprisingly, in my area, we now have a very healthy deer herd, good buck to doe ratio, big-bodied deer and nice racks but it wasn't always that way. When I was a kid (not really that long ago), it was typical to see 50, 60 or 100 deer a day in my area of the state but you'd typically see 20 or 30 doe for each buck, the antlered buck were typically spikes or very small forkhorns and your 100-120 pound live buck was exactly what we'd expect, in fact, that would be a nice one back in the 60s or 70s.

Thanks for the ongoing information Al, it's truly appreciated. I'm doing lots of research on my end and from my perspective, retirement and a move can't come quickly enough, it was 15 below this morning when I went to work (and that's NOT the wind chill). March 6th and I'm still freezing my backside off up here. How's the turkey and deer hunting in the areas being discussed? As I get older, I've lost interest and don't hunt nearly as much as I used to but I still get out at times, particularly for spring gobbler, deer and grouse. Here's a bird that I whacked in north-central Tennessee with a flintlock fowler that I built.

Thanks Al. I have one son already in college who wouldn't take advantage of the free tuition even if I moved there today but I also have a son who's a junior in high school. It's highly unlikely that I'd get moved down there early enough for him to qualify as a resident before accepting the two years, not to mention that I might have a hard sale on community college if he was already enrolled in a 4 year school anyway. The good news is that I already bounced it off of him and he said that he wouldn't mind us pulling stakes and moving and that he could surely find somewhere down that way to attend college. Thanks for the info on the communities and counties, I'll probably send a few more inquiries. What about Boone Lake and the surrounding area? At this point, I'm really starting to like the idea of a lakefront home on Boone, Norris, Cherokee or Douglas or possibly a riverfront home on South Holston or a similar river.

Thanks Al, I did know that about the water drops in winter (thought I didn't know that Tellico and Ft. Loudon didn't have drastic level changes). I'm still doing research and have asked another C of C to send me information about relocating and real estate. So far I've inquired with Morristown and Sevierville. Any other towns I should inquire with?

Thanks for the tip Bob, I'll look into it but like above, it's getting to be bit farther from home than I had really hoped for.

Thanks for the offer and the info. I've never fished Pickwick but I have fished Wheeler in Alabama. I'm sure I'd love the fishing there, especially the sauger fishing, but honestly, it's getting to be too far away from home base and makes a trip down in one day difficult or impossible. Besides that, it's just not that appealing to me compared to those lakes in the eastern part of the state that have the Great Smokies in their back yards. Being a backwoods guy who lives in the mountains of PA, that really appeals to me. Based on some photos that I've seen, some reading that I've done, real estate searches and Youtube, I'm really starting to like the idea of Cherokee or Douglas Lakes, but it's obviously going to require a trip down there to peruse the area and see what I'd be getting into.

No state income tax (other than on interest and dividends) but they do have a fairly high state sales tax. Not a huge issue for me and you're correct, the property tax on a 3 or 4 bedroom lakehouse are about 1/4 what I pay for my 100+ acre farm and 4 bedroom home here in PA. Thanks for the info on Douglas and Cherokee. As it happens, I had already done a bit of research and found a few reasonably priced lakehomes on Cherokee and had requested info from one of the local chambers of commerce. Still looking though but I'm really intrigued about that Cherokee/Douglas Lake area.

No offense intended to anyone but Florida's not likely to be in the cards. I've been a handful of times and it's just not my cup of tea. I like eastern Tennessee as well as parts of Kentucky and southern Virginia because it's similar to my home here, mountains/hills and a rural area with temperate weather. People tell me that Florida becomes more appealing as you get older and God knows that I'm sick and tired of this winter, but still, I'm just not a huge fan, although I've enjoyed the few vacations that I've made to your great state. I really DO appreciate the input though and you never know when someone will offer advice that may strike a chord with me and put me into a fit of internet research on new areas.

Good ideas. Ideally, I think I'd like to keep my farm where I live now. The summer weather is fantastic but I'm not really that near a good lake (2 hours from several dandies though and within 3 or 4 hours of a dozen really high end waters). Alternately, I could do what you have in mind and downsize to a smaller cottage up north and a nicer, year-round home down south that I'd likely vacate in the middle of the summer. The problem for me is that if I keep the farm, my cash will be somewhat limited and my winter cottage may have to be a bit more modest.

Thanks for the continuing thoughts fellas. I appreciate it. I may actually be heading to Tennessee in June because a friend is trying to set up a benefit concert for his son who was in a fairly serious auto accident this winter. If I do, I suspect I'll spend a few extra days and camp on one or two lakes just to get a feel for them. Of course I'd pick up the real estate brochures in town while there too.

Good luck with your search too. I used to consider the Ozark lakes but I think that's a bit far to drive when I had to get back and forth so I'm really leaning towards eastern Tennessee, southern Kentucky and southern Virginia.

Thanks for the link fish365, looks like you could never fish all of that water. I've actually fished a couple of the TVA lakes in the past but it's been years.

I've already done some internet research on Smith Mountain but have never been there. I'd really like to get down there this summer to rent a place with the family or camp by myself but we'll see, I have lots of other trips planned and need to set some priorities. I should also add that I have pointing dogs and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if there were some grouse or quail nearby either, although I know the bird hunting in those areas isn't what it used to be.

Nice. I could live with the sauger. I appreciate the advice and will do some online real estate searches to see what's there.

OK, I admit it, I spend way too much time thinking about retirement. I'm somewhere between 1 year and 8 years from calling it quits for good and I really think I'd like to have a lakehouse when I do. I live in Pennsylvania and really like the fishing and the scenery in New York state and Vermont but frankly, real estate and especially taxes are through the roof in the areas that I like. I also admit that as I get older, these 20 below zero temperatures are getting old. I don't see myself ever really wanting to live in a real southern area that's always warm (or ridiculously hot) but I'm leaning towards southern Virginia, southern Kentucky or eastern Tennessee to try to get the best of both worlds. I've done some internet searches for property just for giggles in areas like Smith Mountain Lake, Norris Lake and Dale Hollow but thought I'd ask all of you kind folks who may have fished many or most of these waters what you think. Here are my list of "requirements", though as you know, no area is perfect and I'm somewhat flexible about any or all of these things. I think I want it to be a larger lake, maybe 5000 acres or more. I think you're more likely to find suitable housing on these lakes and they tend to have good multi-species fishing, which would be a big plus for me. I don't necessarily need any one species but I admit that walleye, stripers, smallies, big crappie, yellow perch would all be a plus. I want it to be a house or a very nice cottage, something that's low maintenance and that I could live in all season if I chose to, not a rundown camp situation. Two beds and 1.5 baths would be bare minimum but 3 bedrooms and 2 baths might be nicer, in the event that my kids both came to join us (I presume that both will be on their own or close to it when I make this move). I don't mind cool temperatures (say low 30s or 40s) but I'd like to be able to fish all year. I love to ice fish but if I buy a lakehouse "down south" it would be to benefit from the open water and fishing opportunities. I'm a very private person so I'd like at least some privacy and don't need or want to be in the middle of everything but having a nice moderate sized town nearby with restaurants and stores would probably make my wife and certainly my kids happy. Say within half an hour's drive of a town of 10,000 or so. Cost is important and precisely why I'm fleeing the north. Depending on whether I keep my farm up here or sell it and intend to make this my full-time residence, I might be able to pay 300K (I could probably pay more if I sold the farm but I don't think I'll sell the farm) but obviously I'd like to get some bang for my buck and would be happy if the real estate taxes weren't ridiculous. I suppose I could live half a mile from a marina and not have water frontage but I'd prefer to be on the lake if I can still have some privacy and if it won't bankrupt me. I suppose it also wouldn't hurt if I was within 10 hours or so of my farm in northern Pennsylvania but that may not be a deal killer for the right set up. Just throwing this stuff out there because I'm sure other guys think about retirement locations all the time too. I'll appreciate any thoughts you guys or gals may have.

I didn't see this until after you made your purchase but I would have done what you did (though I might have tried to get the Tarpon 120). I have a Tarpon 100 and like it very much. It may not track quite as well as many yaks but it's sturdy, stable and very comfortable, plus it's a LOT lighter than the Ride. If you never intend to carry it very far and if you have options for loading, that won't make a difference but I have no trouble loading the Tarpon quite easily by myself and I'm not a behemoth.

I live out in the sticks and don't get to shop at large stores often, but I may be driving past a Dick's and a Field and Stream on Saturday. I know that both stores are owned by the same company, but is it safe to assume that they run the same sales? Assuming I didn't want to risk my wife telling me to cut it out and stop buying stuff, if I was only to stop at one store, which would likely offer the better deals? I know that the Field and Stream will have a nicer fishing department, but will the sales be as good?